History of Improvised Bertsolaritza: a Proposal

Oral Tradition, 22/2 (2007): 77-115 History of Improvised Bertsolaritza: A Proposal Joxerra Garzia Historical Antecedents As Joxe Azurmendi (1980) points out, A curious contradiction arises. On the one hand, a myth surrounding the origins of bertsolaritza has been gratuitously created, trying to date it from time immemorial; on the other, in these dizzy times where all myths are opposed with such ardor, a counter-myth, just as gratuitous as the myth it claims to combat, has arisen: that bertsolaritza in the Basque Country is a phenomenon more or less modern, with its origins about the beginnings of the nineteenth century. According to Azurmendi, the myth of the immemorial origin of bertsolaritza1 comes from Manuel Lekuona, the first real scholar of bertsolaritza and of other manifestations of Basque popular literature. In Lekuona’s work, we find a number of references to the “neolithic” or “prehistoric” character of the artistic activity. According to him, the origins of bertsolaritza have to be looked for in the times of pastoral farming. Azurmendi states that all subsequent references to the remote origins of bertsolaritza owe a debt to the position held by Lekuona. And Azurmendi produces some evidence in the form of quotations, which can give us an idea of the tone of the arguments over the remote origin of bertsolaritza. So, for example, it is stated that “All Basques sing; the whole people sing . from the earliest times which prehistoric science managed to penetrate, the Basques have shown examples of their poetic activity” (Gorostiaga 1957). Another formulaic statement on the same theme is the claim that “bertsolaritza is as old as Euskara itself.”2 The counter-myth, at the same time, has a considerable tradition among us. On the one hand, the list of those expressing their reticence—or even their scorn—towards bertsolaritza is well stocked with famous names. The fact is that when the first recorded mention of bertsolaritza occurs (towards the end of the eighteenth century), it is referred to as a phenomenon of 1 For photographs and audio/video associated with this article, click on link. 2 See, for example, Jautarkol 1958 and Onaidia 1972. 78 JOXERRA GARZIA considerable age and, what is more important, the documents clearly treat bertsolaritza as a cultural expression that has a high degree of maturity in its forms and in its social roots, judging by the references to the verbal combats between bertsolaris and the social importance that such ad hoc compositions appeared to have had at the time. Luis Michelena, distancing himself equally from the two extremes, states that, “the tradition [of the bertsolaris] is very old, and dates at least from the damas improvisadoras (improvvistraces) of fifteenth-century verse whom Garibay talks about” (1960:25). J. M. Leizaola and other scholars have also held the same opinion. Azurmendi’s work on this question is of great importance because it involves two references from the Ancient Charter for Bizkaia, put down on paper in 1452. These are undoubtedly the oldest written records of bertsolaritza and irrefutable proof that, as early as the mid-fifteenth century, improvised verse singing, or some manifestation thereof, was sufficiently common and deep-rooted to merit its express banning. First, Title 35, Charter Law VI: . hereafter, when one wishes to mourn for a defunct person in Bizkaia or outside the same, by sea or on land, no person in any part of Bizkaia, in town or village, shall dare make lamentations, pull their hair or scratch their head, nor shall they make singing lamentations . under pain of payment of one thousand coins for each person acting in contrary and every time. In addition to these “mourners,” there is a second mention in the Ancient Charter for Bizkaia, even more significant, about the sung improvisation of the period. It appears in Title 8, Law I: Regarding those cases where arrests can be made without delinquents seeking sanctuary under the Tree of Guernica. First, they say: there are Common Law rights . sanctuary . and as regards the Women, known for being shameful, and agitators of peoples, they make couplets and songs in an infamous and libellous manner. The Charter Law refers to these women as “profanesses” who, in all probability, can be regarded as the direct ancestors of modern-day bertsolaris. Despite this record, the reality of these adlibbing women is that we can do little more than confirm their existence. To find a corpus of bertsolaristic literature of any substance we have to wait until the end of the eighteenth century. The nineteenth century is better documented, both regarding names and biographical data as well as regarding actual preserved pieces (bertsos). Nevertheless, these refer more to non-improvised, written bertsos (bertso jarriak). It is known, from cross-references, that the bertsolaris who wrote these verses also improvised, but the number of bertsos (entire improvised sung poems) of which we have knowledge is quite scant and we can say little about their characteristics. Not until the mid-twentieth century did the use of recording technologies become widespread, thus allowing the guaranteed preservation––and subsequent faithful transcription––of the bertsos improvised by the bertsolaris in town squares and at village crossroads. If we subscribe to the point of view of Michelena, Leizaola, and Azurmendi about the origins of improvised bertsolaritza and consider the forms used and the end-product of the ad HISTORY OF IMPROVISED BERTSOLARITZA 79 hoc bertsolari improvisers, we can see that it is only from the 1960s onward that we have a corpus of improvised bertsos worthy of the name. Before that time, what survives is a collection of fragments and anecdotes that do not provide sufficient material on which to base thorough research. Those who are considered “classical” bertsolaris (Etxahun, Xenpelar, and Bilintx in the nineteenth century; Kepa Enbeita, Txirrita, Pello Errota, Udarregi, and others between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries) were, according to all accounts, great improvisers. But the status they enjoy within the world of bertsolaritza is almost entirely due to their written or dictated––rather than improvised––bertsos. The fact that the bertsos that make up most of the creative corpus of these classical bertsolaris are “conceptually” oral (some of the poets quoted did not know how to write) should not blind us to the fact that, given the forms of reproduction, these bertsos belong to a genre more akin to ballad sheet culture than to improvised bertsolaritza. The Transformation of Bertsolaritza in the Twentieth Century However it may have come about, the reality is that throughout the twentieth century bertsolaritza underwent a progressive and radical change. Although the name is the same, bertsolaritza at the beginning of the century has little to do with that at the end. Far from being superficial, change has affected practically every aspect of the artistic activity. Among other things, written bertsolaritza, the most important format at the beginning of the century, ceded primacy to the improvised form. By the end of the twentieth century, it was the people improvising their bertsos before the public who were seen as the true bertsolaris. It is difficult to determine the point at which the two forms of bertsolaritza met, one on the way up and the other in decline. Nevertheless, some of the causes for the change can be outlined: - The defense of oral poetry by Manuel Lekuona in Bergara in 1930 produced a change in the way in which the Basque intelligentsia evaluated the phenomenon of improvised bertsolaritza. As a consequence of this shift, what can be seen as the first-ever bertsolari championship was held in 1935, and then repeated the following year. The organization of both competitions was the responsibility of Euskaltzaleak, which was closely linked to Basque political nationalism. − After the civil war and the harshest years of Franco’s dictatorship, the Basque Language Academy, Euskaltzaindia, assumed responsibility for the organization of the third championship in 1960, with hugely successful results. Three more competitions followed in 1962, 1965, and 1967. − The advent of radio as a popular means of communication, and the attention that a few broadcasting stations afforded bertsolaris from the outset, provided almost the only form of Basque language not prohibited at the time. − After the death of General Franco, the Academy once again began organizing bertsolari championships, the first one being held in 1980. The idea was to hold the competition biennially, and indeed the next one took place in 1982. − The 1985 competition gave rise to a heated confrontation between the organizers and the group of bertsolaris (or at least the most active among them), which resulted in the creation of the 80 JOXERRA GARZIA Association of Bertsolaris of the Basque Country.3 This Association then assumed responsibility for organizing the championships on a quadrennial basis; the 1985 contest was held (finally) in 1986 and, since then, three more have taken place: in 1989, 1993, and 1997. Moreover, each of the seven provinces (four in peninsular Euskal Herria and three in the continental Basque Country) holds its own championships, and there is no dearth of school and youth events. Self-managed within the Bertsozale Elkartea, oral artistic activity has become a touchstone for other aspects of Basque culture. − The improvised bertsos in the championships were recorded, both in writing and in audio-visual format. The transcriptions of the bertsos of the 1935 and 1936 championships are still precarious, but from 1960 on each contest (or at least the final) had its own recorded edition. We have, therefore, for the first time in the history of bertsolaritza, a corpus of improvised bertsos. − In 1989, the Association published a book with an anthology of the improvised bertsos from the various events held during 1988, under the title Bapatean 88.

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